We use cookies to customise content for your subscription and for analytics.If you continue to browse Lexology, we will assume that you are happy to receive all our cookies. For further information please read our Cookie Policy.

New York law creates quandary for businesses with new “Accessible Icon”

Despite the url (www.adatitleiii.com) and frequent federal focus of this blog, it is important to remember that many states and municipalities have their own disability access laws and regulations with which businesses must comply. Although many state and local requirements are similar to the ADA, this is not always the case.

Usually we’re reporting on a peculiarity of California law, but not today. Effective November 22, 2014, businesses in New York must use the Accessible Icon (depicted above) in new construction and alterations. New York is the first state in the country to adopt this icon, which is distinctly different than the International Symbol of Access (“ISA”) specified in federal ADA Title III regulations.

The New “Accessible Icon”

Created over forty years ago, the ISA is a widely-recognized depiction of an individual in a wheelchair that signifies access for persons with disabilities. ADA design standards, as well as many state and local laws, regulations and building codes expressly require that businesses use the ISA to designate accessible entrances, restrooms, and parking spaces, to name a few.

On July 25, 2014, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation designed to phase out the ISA throughout the state. Under the new law and its implementing regulations, accessibility signage installed or replaced on or after November 22, 2014 must use the Accessible Icon. The new law also prohibits the use of the term “handicapped” on accessible signage.

The description of the Accessible Icon in state regulations is taken verbatim from the website of The Accessible Icon Project, an advocacy organization that developed the icon and is lobbying for its adoption in the United States and abroad. Rather than what the regulations describe as a “static” position of the ISA, the Accessible Icon depicts a “dynamic character leaning forward and with a sense of movement.” The forward position of the head, arms pointing backward, and appearance of a wheelchair in motion “broadcast[] an important message that the emphasis should be on the person rather than the disability.”

The regulations make clear that their purpose is to change the accessibility symbol in the state, but make no reference to the fact that federal regulations – with which businesses must also comply – still require the traditional ISA.

New NYS Requirements Conflict with the ADA

New state signage requirements are inconsistent with the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (and the preceding 1991 Standards), which require that public accommodations use the ISA to designate certain accessible architectural features.

As a result, New York businesses that install or replace accessible signage on or after November 22, 2014 are faced with a Catch-22. They must either display the Accessible Icon and risk violating the ADA, or display the ISA instead and fail to comply with state law.

One way out of this quandary would be for New York businesses to display the Accessible Icon and rely on the equivalent facilitation provision in Section 103 of the 2010 ADA Standards, which allows “the use of designs, products, or technologies as alternatives to those prescribed, provided that they result in substantially equivalent or greater accessibility and usability.” Businesses can take the position that the Accessible Icon constitutes equivalent facilitation under Section 103, and thus its use in lieu of the ISA is permitted. However, the agency responsible for enforcing Title III of the ADA – – the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) – – has not issued any formal guidance on this issue. Moreover, if a lawsuit is filed under the ADA against a business that chose to display the Accessible Icon, the burden of proving that the Accessible Icon provides equivalent facilitation would be on the business.

A Sign of Things to Come?

Will other states follow New York’s lead and replace the ISA with the Accessible Icon? According to The Accessibility Project’s website, the Icon is displayed in municipal buildings in New York City, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and El Paso, Texas, as well as by a number of museums, restaurants, colleges, and hospitals in the United States and internationally. Additional state jurisdictions may well follow suit.

The symbolism underlying the design of the Accessible Icon is unquestionably positive. Its recent adoption in New York, however, has created uncertainty for public accommodations that must comply with both federal and state law.

Compare jurisdictions: BYOD: Bring Your Own Device

“I enjoy the CLANZ newsstand and find it highly relevant to my job. I definitely have forwarded various articles to my colleagues on occasion where there is a point of general interest, particularly employment or IT law. I really appreciate the service, it's a quick way for me to keep up to date in a way I wouldn't otherwise have time to.”